Does Rodrigo Bentancur clearly know what he did wrong?
The English Football Association imposed strong disciplinary action on Bentancur for making racist remarks while referring to Son Heung-min.
The English Football Association said, “Bentancur was suspended for seven games and fined 100,000 pounds (about 170 million won),” and “Bentancur denied the charge, but after a hearing before the independent regulatory committee, he was found to have violated the rules.” “We confirmed, judged, and issued disciplinary action.” He continued, “Bentancur must also participate in mandatory face-to-face training programs.”
news/cms/202411/20/news-p.v1.20241120.4171a752c3c448249f650357cec5f5b6_R.jpg" data-width="660" data-height="440" /> Enlarge photo Bentancur. Photo=AFPBBNews=News1 
news/cms/202411/20/news-p.v1.20241120.17ff946e8a4941ff9ff7f11277b2c569_R.jpg" data-width="660" data-height="440" /> Enlarge photo Bentancur. Photo=AFPBBNews=News1 
news/cms/202411/20/news-p.v1.20241114.07082172028e4dfb81184ccfeb1660ea_R.png" data-width="647" data-height="439" /> Enlarge photo Bentancur-Son Heung-min. Photo = ⓒAFPBBNews = News1
The absurd incident caused by Bentancur occurred after the end of the 2023-24 season.
In an interview with the Uruguayan broadcast program ‘For La Camiseta’ in June, Bentancur mentioned Son Heung-min and made a comment mocking the appearance of Asians.
When the host at the time asked, “Can you get a Korean uniform?” Bentancur responded as follows.
“Son Heung-min? If it’s not Son Heung-min, how about his cousin’s uniform? “All Asians look the same anyway.”
According to Bentancur’s claim, the remark was made as a ‘light joke’, but it was clearly a ‘racist’ remark.
news/cms/202411/20/news-p.v1.20241114.4427d7e7fe04490498bdf9eacf2d6e77_R.png" data-width="647" data-height="1055" /> Rodrigo Bentancur’s apology when the photo was enlarged. Photo = Bentancur SNS 
news/cms/202411/20/news-p.v1.20241114.a55f3f651f454941a51ea5af7d76c73e_R.png" data-width="647" data-height="431" /> Enlarge photo Rodrigo Bentancur. Photo = ⓒAFPBBNews = News1
After recognizing the seriousness of the situation, Bentancur quickly apologized to Son Heung-min through his social networking service (SNS).
Bentancur said, “I sincerely apologize to Son Heung-min. What I said was a very bad joke. I love Son Heung-min. “I never meant to ignore him or hurt him.”
Son Heung-min showed the side of a great man.
Son Heung-min accepted Bentancur’s apology and embraced him, saying, “We are brothers.”
news/cms/202411/20/news-p.v1.20241119.578a8709b35d4a5b89350750695cd976_R.jpg" data-width="660" data-height="436" /> Enlarge photo Bentancur. Photo=AFPBBNews=News1 
news/cms/202411/20/news-p.v1.20241120.493b1cee7606482596cc1c424553f574_R.jpg" data-width="660" data-height="440" /> Enlarge photo Bentancur. Photo=AFPBBNews=News1
Tottenham Hotspur tried to cover up this problem as much as possible.
Tottenham said through the club’s official SNS, “We fully support Son Heung-min for forgiving Bentancur,” and “We will not spare any support so that Son Heung-min and Bentancur can reunite and focus on the 2024-25 season.” He continued, “We will provide additional training to prevent problems like this from recurring.”
Tottenham did not impose any additional disciplinary action on Bentancur.
news/cms/202411/20/news-p.v1.20241119.ad618fc683f149588a119f20eeb8b03a_R.jpg" data-width="660" data-height="436" /> Enlarge photo Bentancur. Photo=AFPBBNews=News1
The English Football Association was different. The English Football Association imposed disciplinary action on Bentancur after a thorough investigation.
During this process, shocking facts were also revealed.
According to the minutes of the disciplinary meeting released by the English Football Association, Bentancur did not admit his wrongdoing. And then he just made excuses and excuses.
Bentancur made an absurd claim through Tottenham, saying, “What I said was to gently scold the host who racially discriminated against Son Heung-min.”
He continued, “At the time, the host referred to Son Heung-min as Korean. It was an attempt to generalize Asians. “I said this in a gentle way to scold him.”
news/cms/202411/20/news-p.v1.20241119.2519facaa18f4f908704cfee5870c1d8_R.jpg" data-width="660" data-height="436" /> Enlarge photo Bentancur. Photo=AFPBBNews=News1
To summarize Bentancur’s claim, he did not make racist remarks toward Son Heung-min.
It didn’t end here.
Bentancur even overturned the apology he gave to Son Heung-min after the racial discrimination.
Bentancur claimed, “It was not an apology for my words,” and “I was apologizing to Son Heung-min for only part of the interview being edited and reported.”
news/cms/202411/20/news-p.v1.20241114.7646ae6a743948b780c986db61ab9371_R.png" data-width="647" data-height="431" /> Enlarge photo Rodrigo Bentancur and Son Heung-min. Photo = ⓒAFPBBNews = News1
Just looking at Bentancur’s claims, you can see that he is completely unaware of what he did wrong. It is also difficult to understand Tottenham standing by and not even imposing any punishment on such a player. Tottenham is a team that is far from winning the championship, but it is one of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Unlike Tottenham, the English Football Association was extremely common sense.
After hearing all of Bentancur’s lame excuses and false apologies, the English Football Association unanimously confirmed Bentancur’s disciplinary action.
The English Football Association said: “After thorough consideration of all circumstances, the independent regulatory committee has decided to discipline Bentancur. “We imposed disciplinary action based only on objective facts,” he said.
[이근승 MK스포츠 기자]
1. Why did Bentancur apologize to Son Heung-min through social networking service?
2. How did Son Heung-min react to Bentancur’s apology?
3. What disciplinary action did Tottenham take against Bentancur for his racial slur against Son Heung-min?
4. What did Bentancur claim in his defense during the disciplinary hearing with the English Football Association?
5. How did the English Football Association respond to Bentancur’s defense?
6. In your opinion, should Bentancur have received disciplinary action from Tottenham? Why or why not?
7. As a fan of Tottenham, how would you feel about Bentancur’s behavior and the team’s response?
8. What responsibility do professional athletes have to be role models on and off the field?
9. How should teams handle situations like these to maintain respect in the locker room and within the fanbase?
10. In light of recent incidents involving racial slurs in sports, what steps can be taken to ensure players’ mental health and well-being while also promoting anti-discriminatory attitudes?
![[김경환 변호사의 디지털법] 〈42〉The practice of writing complaints and accusations by company executives and employees must be changed.](https://i0.wp.com/morganmadeleine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Wedding-detail-photos.jpg?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1 "[김경환 변호사의 디지털법] 〈42〉The practice of writing complaints and accusations by company executives and employees must be changed.")